2015

Fiscal Year 2015

Governor Patrick released his version of the state’s 2015 budget on January 22 at 1 p.m. We are tracking each step of the budget process below. The Massachusetts budget runs on a fiscal year cycle that begins July 1 and ends June 31 the following year. To connect to the page on particular budget, click on the link below the title. As each step unfolds, we will post links to the results. The House and Senate committee and full budgets are released in the spring and summer months. A final budget is typically approved by July 1.

Click the headlines below to view the budgets and analyses.Please note that some of these items are in PDF format and require Adobe Reader to view and download them.

Timing is Everything in Politics

No one has time to waste. In order to be an effective advocate, it is important to know the legislative cycle and how and when to impact the process. The budget is the most important bill to move through the Legislature each year.

Understanding the budget process can enable advocates to act with the “biggest bang for the buck.” The Massachusetts state budget runs on a fiscal year cycle that begins on July 1 and ends on June 31. The following timeline is useful for advocates planning their legislative calendars.

SEPTEMBER – DECEMBER

Where is the budget?

The Administration, under the Governor, begins the budget creation process. Each agency and department submits a budget to its executive office. For example, the Department of Mental Retardation, Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission, and Massachusetts Commission for the Blind identify their priorities and submit their budgets for the next fiscal year to the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS). Then all the Executive Offices, e.g., Health and Human Services, Consumer Affairs, Elder Affairs, submit their budgets to the Executive Office of Administration and Finance, which prepares the Administration’s (Governor’s) version of the total state budget. Sometime during this period the Administration holds open budget hearings, and takes public testimonies.

What your agency should be doing

Meet with the Commissioners of your respective agencies to request that your priority issues become the priorities of the respective Commissioners and the Secretary of Health and Human Services. (To find contact information for agencies and commissions, visit mass.gov) Prepare position papers and provide resources to support your issues. Begin to meet with those legislators who have been consistently supportive of your issues to share with them the priority issues of your agency. Also, attend budget hearings, and if possible arrange to testify. (For tips on meeting with legislators and providing testimony, browse our library of legislative advocacy tools.)

What you should be doing

This is a good time for families to send letters to the Commissioners, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Governor’s office. Describe the needs of your family. For example, if you need after-school care to keep your family member home, tell them this. If you need a ramp, a tutor, or a full residential program, explain that too. Personal letters are a very effective weapon in the advocacy arsenal.

In the Legislature — Families and Local Chapters of The Arc take on the critical role of laying the grassroots constituency groundwork with Senators and Representatives. Get to know your legislators! Meet with them, call them, write them. (Don’t know who your legislators are? You can use our online Arc Action Center to find out.) Tell them what your needs are, and that you are going to need their help when the budget comes before the Legislature. Also, visit those legislators you don’t know very well. It is always important to cultivate new legislative supporters. It is only human nature that legislators are most responsive to people they know. If possible, get to know them before you ask for millions of budget dollars.

JANUARY – MARCH

Where is the budget?

According to the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the Governor must present a proposed budget for the next fiscal year to the Legislature by the third Wednesday of January. Copies of the Governor’s budget are available to the public in the State House (Document Room 428). The Governor’s budget is called “House 1,” which can be confusing because despite its name, the House 1 budget is not the budget produced by the House of Representatives.

The Governor’s proposed budget goes first to the House Ways and Means Committee for review and consideration. The Legislature does not have to agree with the amounts in any of the line items in House 1, and in fact, the House and Senate will likely propose their own budget proposals, often using House 1 as a baseline. But it is always helpful if your priority issue is already in the Governor’s budget. The House Ways and Means Committee will schedule public hearings and take testimonies from groups and individuals prior to releasing a budget document to the full House.

What your agency should be doing

Move into full campaign mode. Attend public budget hearings and if possible, arrange to testify. Contact legislators; initially concentrate on House Ways and Means members, but by mid-February move on to the full House of Representatives. (You can find out which legislators are on the Ways & Means Committee at www.mass.gov/legis) It is helpful to do an analysis of the budget comparing last year’s line items to this year’s as well as identifying trends, initiatives and priorities of the Administration. (Visit our State Budget page for information on budgets from past years.) Most advocacy groups then concentrate on increasing the amounts in each line item according to the identified budget priorities. But you can also work to strike language that is deemed harmful to your population. If possible, organize weekly visits to the State House to advocate for your priorities. It is important to provide fact sheets and other supporting documents to legislators and their staff.

What you should be doing

This is a critical time to contact your legislators. Call them, write letters, and meet with them in their district offices or at the State House. Again, tell them about your family and what your needs are. Most legislators have little or no knowledge of your particular issue. If the only constituents they hear from are those families who want to keep their family members in a large institution, this is how they will vote. THEY MUST HEAR FROM YOU. (For resources and tips on working with with your legislators, check out The Arc of Massachusetts’ Guide to Communicating with Your Legislators and our Legislative Advocacy Kit on the Policy Tools page.)

APRIL – JUNE

Where is the budget?

In spring, the House Ways and Means Committee releases its version of the proposed state budget to the full House of Representatives for deliberation and debate. During this time, the House can, and often does, amend the House budget. After the budget is passed by the House, it is sent to the Senate Ways and Means Committee. The Senate has the right to put together its own budget; it does not have to agree with either the House or the Administration versions. The Senate Ways and Means Committee will hold public hearings and take testimonies before preparing its version of the budget and releasing it to the full Senate. As in the House, the Senate amend, strike, or add sections prior to passing the budget.

Generally, the House and Senate pass differing versions of the budget. A six-member Conference Committee (made up of the House and Senate Ways and Means chairs and vice chairs, and a senior minority member of each chamber) convenes to resolve differences and draft a compromise budget proposal. The Committee releases the compromise budget for a full vote. The House and Senate vote; upon enactment the budget is sent to the Governor for his signature. (For Committee assignments and contact information, visit http://www.mass.gov/legis/commenu.htm)

What your agency should be doing

Work directly with legislators and their staff to influence policy. Provide fact sheets and other supporting documents. Meet with as many legislators and staff as possible to advocate for your priorities. Continue to organize weekly visits and urge as many people as possible to join you. Attend budget hearings and, if possible, arrange to testify.

What you should do

Call, write and visit your own senators and make your case. It is very important that you contact your own legislators. Elected officials pay greater attention to communications from their own district constituents.

JULY – AUGUST

Where is the budget?

After the Governor receives the enacted budget, he has ten working days to sign it into law. (This period often extends into early August.) He can veto line items and/or strike language and dollar amounts. The Legislature can override the Governor’s vetoes. However, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate must agree to take up each veto for an override vote. Overrides require a two-thirds vote of both the House and Senate.

What your agency should do

If you want the Governor to veto certain items, write to the Governor requesting those line items or language you want vetoed. Alert organization members if there are issues or language that is harmful to the persons you represent and ask them to call the Governor’s office and urge vetoes of those items. If your want the House and Senate to override a veto, call and meet with individual legislators, as well as with the offices of the House Speaker and Senate President. (Visit www.mass.gov/legis for contact information for House and Senate leadership as well as all other legislators.)

What you should do

If you receive an alert that there is language in the budget that would be harmful, make individual constituent calls to the Governor’s office. These calls can impact the likelihood that the Governor will veto an item. If your want the House and Senate to override a veto, make individual calls to legislators, as well as to the offices of the House Speaker and Senate President.

Remember, legislative advocacy works. Good luck with your efforts!

Governor’s Budget (House One)

(Released in late January)

Governor Deval Patrick released his FY’15 state budget on Wednesday, January 22nd. A budgetary analysis of The Arc’s priorities shows that the Governor made a significant investment in some line items which are long-time goals of The Arc – annual funding of Turning 22- young adults who have transitioned from school to adult services, additional funding to Employment, Family Support and residential rates. In addition to the major investment reflected by the Governor, DDS should achieve increased revenue through federal and other funding, projected at $589,123,335.

Full funding was placed into the Community Residential (5920-2000) line item. The Arc and partners had requested an additional 148M to cover the annual cost of the Chapter 257 residential rate increase (the first increase in 25 years at a time when the cost of living rose more that 102%) plus the full annual rate for those who turned 22 last year. The rate increase is a major step forward to ensure a more stable and effective workforce. We are extremely grateful for the investment of funds.

The Governor made a significant down payment to fund the Employment Blueprint which will shift from workshop settings towards individual and integrated employment by placing over 5M new dollars into the DDS Day and Employment Services (5920-2025) account.

Family Support (5920-3000) received over 2.5M in new dollars to provide flexible supports to assist families in caring for their children. This brings us close to pre-recession levels.

We at The Arc are grateful to Governor Patrick for his recognition of the need to fund services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families and feel that his actions strengthen his legacy of support to our community.

We will continue to advocate to the Legislature to maintain these budgetary advances and to add in additional funding to support our agenda on Autism, Turning 22, and DESE/DDS.

House Ways & Means Committee Budget

(Released in April)

Chairman Dempsey and the Ways/Means Committee released a supportive 2015 budget for our services on April 9th.

Highlights additional funding for:

Family Support/Respite of $2.5 Million

Made a major investment in Chapter 257

Additional monies for other accounts such as transportation and day/employment.

The Ways and Means Document specifically referenced the new initiative in employment including a separate account with $1 Million.

As in previous years, more work needs to be done in the House and as the budget moves forward to the Senate. The results for the DDS budget include:

Family Support/Respite (DDS 5920-3000) was funded at $54,933,705 … historically the House has initiated this increase, this year, it matches the Governor’s recommendation…we are happy to receive the additional 2.5M dollars.

DDS/DESE (5498-0012/7061-0012) was funded at 6.5M. We will hold at this amount.

Autism Services (DDS 5920-3010) was funded at 6.4M. We will be supporting an amendment filed by Representative Danielle Gregoire to add an additional 3 M to fund both the Children’s Medicaid Waiver (additional 2M) and the Autism Support Centers (additional 1M).

DDS Day/Employment (5920-2025) was funded at $173,662,848. As we noted a separate line item was filed for the Employment Blueprint (see below).

DDS Employment Pilot Program (5920-2026) was funded at $1,000,000. Rep. Sannicandro will file an amendment for $4.5 M to match the Governor’s recommendation.

DDS Transportation (5911-2000) was funded at $15,907,400 which does fund increased transportation in the community.

DDS Residential (5920-2000) was funded at $1,005,889,270. We are supporting an amendment filed by Representative Paul Brodeur to restore the 3M additional to fully fund the rate increases under CH257 – the first such increases in 30 years.

Turning 22 (DDS 5920-5000) was funded at 6.5M. We will focus on an amendment in the Senate budget for this line item.

House Budget

(Released in April)

The final House budget includes $1 Million additional for Early Intervention Services. Otherwise the status is the same as House Ways and Means with a significant increase for residential services consistent with Chapter 257 (law which requires regular review of rates paid for services), additional funds for Family Support/Respite and modest increase in employment for the blueprint. See the report for House Ways and Means for the full summary.

Senate Ways & Means Committee Budget

(Released in May)

Senate Chair Stephen Brewer and the Ways/Means Committee released a very positive 2015 budget for services on May 14. The Budget supports “Blueprint for Success” with $ 5M, slightly under the Governor’s request and significantly more than the House’s request. This will increase community access for individuals with disabilities and bring our state’s services closer to the Olmstead decision and ADA. The Senate also increased community residential rates significantly reflecting Chapter 257.

There are some areas where the budget could be better:

Family Support/Respite program was reduced by 2.5M from the House number and there were slight decreases for transportation

Senate Budget

(Released in May)

Overall the Senate Budget continues to be a positive one with some underfunding that we hope to have resolved in Conference Committee.
The Senate debate resulted in $400,000 increase in Transportation (Sen. John Keenan sponsor) so it is now at same amount as the House. There will be a need for a small supplemental request for the line item.
The Salary Reserve was also adopted (Karen Spilka sponsor) and this helps those programs not yet funded through Chapter 257.
Of course the gains in the Senate Ways/Means budget reported two weeks ago remain.

Conference Committee Budget

(Released in June)

The Conference Committee report for Developmental Services was a positive one. The budget made significant investments in services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities who receive services from the Department of Developmental Services (DDS). Most notably was the investment to fund increases in the rate paid for long term residential services through CH257 – the first such rate increase in close to thirty years. The Committee:

Included the higher dollars for Family Support of $2.5 Million

Maintained the $6.5 Million for Turning 22 which is the same as the previous year. We are concerned however as the #s of students graduating who require services continues to increase.

They compromised with at total of $1.006 billion for community residential services. This includes over $100 million for increased rates of residential costs (making up for 25 years of no rate increase-related to implementation of new law- Chapter 257) and housing costs for students who graduated in 2014.

$3 Million total for the new employment initiative, lower than the governor’s request but still helps to get the new employment blueprint started.

It includes the $400,000 additional for transportation which is needed for those who turned 22 in 2014.

House Outside Section 174 which would adopt the Rep Sannicandro’s “Real Lives” bill language to allow for self- determination was not accepted into the final report.

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